CCSD reaches a tentative agreement with teachers’ union, but drama heats up among the board with regard to the superintendent. [TNI]
And the drama related to superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara may stem from allegations by the district’s legal counsel (and erstwhile public defender/judicial candidate) Fikisha Miller. [Political.tips]
Former coroner alleged to have claimed iffy degrees, did outside work on taxpayers dime. [RJ]
Judge Tierra Jones sentenced a man to 20 years to life in the death of his infant daughter. [RJ]
The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop tunnels may eventually connect to the airport? [Fox5Vegas]
Isn't amazing to watch CCSD and its problems for the last twenty years. I do recall that the district was supposed to break up into smaller districts. That never happened. We can see that the problems with the school district can be attributed to the school board, the administration and the unions. The powers who control this sad school system do not really care about the students. It is more about how to keep themselves employed (unions) and not being held accountable for their lack of competency (Board and administration).
There are multiple factors which render CCSD a very ineffective school district. People tend to focus on things that harmonize with what they already believe politically. Conservatives/Trumpers blame unions. Liberals blame underfunding.
The truth is much more complex. This city, as a whole, does not value education. Our primary industries do not require any kind of specialized skill or knowledge, unlike regional economies in Salt Lake, Southern California and even Phoenix. Parents here work unusual schedules and tend to be overworked, leaving insufficient time and energy to oversee their kids education.
The district is too big. It is so big that it is unresponsive and inefficient. There are too many people with a personal financial stake in the status quo to break up the district.
The schools are underfunded. This isn't the silver bullet that some liberals make it out to be, but it does matter.
The board of trustees tends to attract increasingly inept and incompetent politicians. Take a look at the Trumper that was elected last year. It is terrifying that someone like that has oversight. But she isn't the first. Kevin "snitches get stitches" Child is another embarrassment. But these people are at least a somewhat truthful reflection of this town.
If you are a concerned parent, the best thing you can do IMO, is put your kids in a charter or private school. I don't think private school is worth the bang for the buck. The charter schools have two big advantages over CCSD: (1) Every child in a charter school has at least one parent who cared enough to put them there. The parents are more engaged, which creates a culture and expectations that run counter to the overall culture of antipathy in Vegas. (2) The charter schools have autonomy and can create their own policies and programs to meet the needs of students with feedback from parents.
In my observation, the teachers themselves are about the same. The environment and expectations in a charter school are much, much higher. I always tell my kids that if they think they are going to leave Vegas and live in somewhere like Utah or Phoenix or Southern California, they will need to be exceptional here to be just average anywhere else.
Guest
Anonymous
October 25, 2021 6:09 pm
How in the WORLD is Fikisha Miller at the helm of negotiations for CCSD?
God help me, I cliked on the article and it was every bit as low information as I expected it to be. Keep up the "Great" reporting!
Guest
Anonymous
October 25, 2021 6:39 pm
We should look at the boring company's track record before we just give them a license to make a carpool lane open to only one company. At the convention center they sold vegas on a high speed people mover which would whisk hundreds of people an hour though tunnels by way of an air propulsion system, but instead gave us a tunnel to be driven in by glorified uber drivers. Before LV gives them any easements or rights of way, why don't they do a market study. Maybe the public would be better served by dedicated bus or street car lanes. I'm not sure we should put any of our eggs in Monorail 2.0
We gave Mark Davis a billion dollars in public funds KNOWING that publicly funded stadiums are ALWAYS losers. So why would we do this kind of due diligence. Stop thinking and focus on the pop, sizzle and sparkle! Quit being a wet blanket!
Supposedly, the loop when completed will have 700 cars at a time and move something like 57,000 people and hour. If that is what the system will be able to do, seems like a good system. Who knows if that will actually ever happen.
Honestly, I think the monorail failed because they couldn't ever get approval to extend to the airport. This may be a faulty memory, but I thought I heard back whenever that the tax cab authority seriously opposed to monorail going to the airport because it would eat into their revenues.
That's my memory too. The monorail would have actually been decent if it connected all of the strip to the airport. It still probably wouldn't have paid for itself, but it at least would have had the nonmonetary benefit of traffic reduction and could have been a more scenic arrival to Vegas, at least compared to getting longhauled through the freeway.
Please someone, help me with the math: 57,000 people per hour, divided by 700 cars = 81.4 people per hour per car. And each car has a capacity of 4 (with "driver") to 5 maximum on any ride, short or long.
Unlike the original proposal Boring sold to the county commissioners which could make sense with 10 to 20 passenger underground buses, none of this makes sense with Tesla cars . . . especially 57,000 people per hour.
IMHO the math should have been questioned by the commissioners.
So, how are the 10 newer Family Court Judges performing(those just elected in Nov. 2020) now that they have been on the bench the better part of a year?
Let's call it 12 newer judges, and also include appointees Gibson and Forsberg as they have each served less than two years(I believe).
Forsberg screams a lot and has a bias towards women. Bailey is doing good, but throws out an odd ruling once in a while. Butler is okay, but a little lost. Gibson's temper is out of control. Mastin is mean as ever and hates females, both litigants and attorneys. Perry is a few cards short of a full deck. Cutter is nice enough. Throne acts just like she did in practice which is not a compliment. Pickard is okay. Rocheleau is okay, but not great. Almase is okay, but not great. Charter is a tyrant and becoming problematic. Mercer is doing good.
Full-time family practitioner here. Real quick as in a hurry: Agree Butler nice but little lost – Good God is Mastin a mean person seems to f'n hate everyone including herself – I thought Perry is doing good so far maybe B on a report card – Pickard doing great – I beg off on Cutter bc we are friends but trying to be objective I think she is doing fine. No time for the rest.
Primarily family law practitioner here. In addition to the shrieking from the bench, Forsberg also holds a grudge against attorneys she had conflict with when she was practicing. It's like being on the bench is her chance to exact a pound of flesh.
Guest
Anonymous
October 25, 2021 9:32 pm
Who do you recommend for a tricky service issue? A subpoena will need to be served either within a VERY fancy guard gated community that likely wont let anyone in or on the person as they enter the office. Don't really trust junes or legal eagles to not screw this up. Anyone have a recommendation?
NRS 14.090 Service of process at residence accessible only through gate.
1. A person who resides at a location to which access is not reasonably available except through a gate may be lawfully served with any legal process in the manner provided in this section. If there is:
(a) A guard posted at the gate and the guard denies access to the residence for service of process, service of process is effective upon leaving a copy thereof with the guard.
(b) No guard posted at the gate and entry through the gate is not reasonably available, the court may, if it is satisfied by affidavit that those facts are true, allow service of process by mailing a copy thereof to the residence by certified or registered mail.
2. The manner of service authorized by this section is supplemental to and does not affect the validity of any other manner of service authorized by law.
2:32 here, I don't know that this will work for a subpoena NRCP 45 allows for service in anyway provided by NRCP 4.2 or 4.3. Doesn't mention NRS 14.090. Have you done this for a subpoena before? this would be awesome, but I am not sure this is allowable for a subpoena. I think this might only pertain to serving process.
Look at 4.4. If you've tried and the person is evading service by all the available traditional means, file a motion requesting service by alternative means. I've served via social media and email because a litigant refused to update their address and all good faith attempts to serve them failed.
Guest
Political.tips
October 25, 2021 10:54 pm
Thank you for linking to my article on Political.tips regarding CCSD.
I had a couple of cases with him in years past. Nice enough guy but his clients always kind of seemed on the shady side if I recall. You hate to see this with someone near the end of a career.
Isn't amazing to watch CCSD and its problems for the last twenty years. I do recall that the district was supposed to break up into smaller districts. That never happened. We can see that the problems with the school district can be attributed to the school board, the administration and the unions. The powers who control this sad school system do not really care about the students. It is more about how to keep themselves employed (unions) and not being held accountable for their lack of competency (Board and administration).
There are multiple factors which render CCSD a very ineffective school district. People tend to focus on things that harmonize with what they already believe politically. Conservatives/Trumpers blame unions. Liberals blame underfunding.
The truth is much more complex. This city, as a whole, does not value education. Our primary industries do not require any kind of specialized skill or knowledge, unlike regional economies in Salt Lake, Southern California and even Phoenix. Parents here work unusual schedules and tend to be overworked, leaving insufficient time and energy to oversee their kids education.
The district is too big. It is so big that it is unresponsive and inefficient. There are too many people with a personal financial stake in the status quo to break up the district.
The schools are underfunded. This isn't the silver bullet that some liberals make it out to be, but it does matter.
The board of trustees tends to attract increasingly inept and incompetent politicians. Take a look at the Trumper that was elected last year. It is terrifying that someone like that has oversight. But she isn't the first. Kevin "snitches get stitches" Child is another embarrassment. But these people are at least a somewhat truthful reflection of this town.
If you are a concerned parent, the best thing you can do IMO, is put your kids in a charter or private school. I don't think private school is worth the bang for the buck. The charter schools have two big advantages over CCSD: (1) Every child in a charter school has at least one parent who cared enough to put them there. The parents are more engaged, which creates a culture and expectations that run counter to the overall culture of antipathy in Vegas. (2) The charter schools have autonomy and can create their own policies and programs to meet the needs of students with feedback from parents.
In my observation, the teachers themselves are about the same. The environment and expectations in a charter school are much, much higher. I always tell my kids that if they think they are going to leave Vegas and live in somewhere like Utah or Phoenix or Southern California, they will need to be exceptional here to be just average anywhere else.
How in the WORLD is Fikisha Miller at the helm of negotiations for CCSD?
My thought too. The article states she already resigned. But still, how did that happen?
Thank you for linking to my article regarding CCSD on Political.tips!
Sarah
God help me, I cliked on the article and it was every bit as low information as I expected it to be. Keep up the "Great" reporting!
We should look at the boring company's track record before we just give them a license to make a carpool lane open to only one company. At the convention center they sold vegas on a high speed people mover which would whisk hundreds of people an hour though tunnels by way of an air propulsion system, but instead gave us a tunnel to be driven in by glorified uber drivers. Before LV gives them any easements or rights of way, why don't they do a market study. Maybe the public would be better served by dedicated bus or street car lanes. I'm not sure we should put any of our eggs in Monorail 2.0
We gave Mark Davis a billion dollars in public funds KNOWING that publicly funded stadiums are ALWAYS losers. So why would we do this kind of due diligence. Stop thinking and focus on the pop, sizzle and sparkle! Quit being a wet blanket!
Supposedly, the loop when completed will have 700 cars at a time and move something like 57,000 people and hour. If that is what the system will be able to do, seems like a good system. Who knows if that will actually ever happen.
deja vu to the monorail
Honestly, I think the monorail failed because they couldn't ever get approval to extend to the airport. This may be a faulty memory, but I thought I heard back whenever that the tax cab authority seriously opposed to monorail going to the airport because it would eat into their revenues.
That's my memory too. The monorail would have actually been decent if it connected all of the strip to the airport. It still probably wouldn't have paid for itself, but it at least would have had the nonmonetary benefit of traffic reduction and could have been a more scenic arrival to Vegas, at least compared to getting longhauled through the freeway.
Please someone, help me with the math: 57,000 people per hour, divided by 700 cars = 81.4 people per hour per car. And each car has a capacity of 4 (with "driver") to 5 maximum on any ride, short or long.
Unlike the original proposal Boring sold to the county commissioners which could make sense with 10 to 20 passenger underground buses, none of this makes sense with Tesla cars . . . especially 57,000 people per hour.
IMHO the math should have been questioned by the commissioners.
Is my math wrong?
Here is an article with even worse numbers:
https://www.autoweek.com/news/green-cars/a36686635/las-vegas-loop-launches-with-tesla-cars-minus-some-promised-features/
So, how are the 10 newer Family Court Judges performing(those just elected in Nov. 2020) now that they have been on the bench the better part of a year?
Let's call it 12 newer judges, and also include appointees Gibson and Forsberg as they have each served less than two years(I believe).
Forsberg screams a lot and has a bias towards women. Bailey is doing good, but throws out an odd ruling once in a while. Butler is okay, but a little lost. Gibson's temper is out of control. Mastin is mean as ever and hates females, both litigants and attorneys. Perry is a few cards short of a full deck. Cutter is nice enough. Throne acts just like she did in practice which is not a compliment. Pickard is okay. Rocheleau is okay, but not great. Almase is okay, but not great. Charter is a tyrant and becoming problematic. Mercer is doing good.
Full-time family practitioner here. Real quick as in a hurry: Agree Butler nice but little lost – Good God is Mastin a mean person seems to f'n hate everyone including herself – I thought Perry is doing good so far maybe B on a report card – Pickard doing great – I beg off on Cutter bc we are friends but trying to be objective I think she is doing fine. No time for the rest.
Primarily family law practitioner here. In addition to the shrieking from the bench, Forsberg also holds a grudge against attorneys she had conflict with when she was practicing. It's like being on the bench is her chance to exact a pound of flesh.
Who do you recommend for a tricky service issue? A subpoena will need to be served either within a VERY fancy guard gated community that likely wont let anyone in or on the person as they enter the office. Don't really trust junes or legal eagles to not screw this up. Anyone have a recommendation?
Serving the guard constitutes service.
NRS 14.090 Service of process at residence accessible only through gate.
1. A person who resides at a location to which access is not reasonably available except through a gate may be lawfully served with any legal process in the manner provided in this section. If there is:
(a) A guard posted at the gate and the guard denies access to the residence for service of process, service of process is effective upon leaving a copy thereof with the guard.
(b) No guard posted at the gate and entry through the gate is not reasonably available, the court may, if it is satisfied by affidavit that those facts are true, allow service of process by mailing a copy thereof to the residence by certified or registered mail.
2. The manner of service authorized by this section is supplemental to and does not affect the validity of any other manner of service authorized by law.
2:32 here, I don't know that this will work for a subpoena NRCP 45 allows for service in anyway provided by NRCP 4.2 or 4.3. Doesn't mention NRS 14.090. Have you done this for a subpoena before? this would be awesome, but I am not sure this is allowable for a subpoena. I think this might only pertain to serving process.
Look at 4.4. If you've tried and the person is evading service by all the available traditional means, file a motion requesting service by alternative means. I've served via social media and email because a litigant refused to update their address and all good faith attempts to serve them failed.
Thank you for linking to my article on Political.tips regarding CCSD.
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo
https://presslasvegas.com/news/las-vegas-attorney-charged-with-stealing-150k-from-client/
4:13 here again. I had one case with Scott and he seemed like a really nice guy. Sad to me to see how someone's life can spiral if this is true.
I had a couple of cases with him in years past. Nice enough guy but his clients always kind of seemed on the shady side if I recall. You hate to see this with someone near the end of a career.
Honestly this is one that I will wait to see how it shakes out. I am not necessarily buying the allegations just because allegations were made.
#freeccsd
#freebonniebulla
#freethebudget